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residents were poor and of the working class. “How many people can walk through a city and self expression rather than trying to spread a
Most were locked into laborious jobs and had prove they were there? It’s a sign I was here. message to the general public.
little way out. My hand made this mark. I'm fucking alive!” Definitions of graffiti under the law seem to
The apathy reverberated through residents bend when money is introduced into the
of all ages. It was in this climate that the idea LEGALITY
of defining one’s self through a new identity Some writers saw joining the art world as an
took place. The new identity, “hip hop,” opportunity to really make graffiti a respected
was expressed lyrically and musically in rap and legitimate art form and spread its mes
music, physically through break dancing, and sage to a wider audience. It also made it
artistically through graffiti. This took place not easier to dedicate one's career to being a
only in New York City, but in Philadelphia and graffiti writer, if the art could bring in revenue
Boston as well. for the artist.
Hip hop graffiti started with tags. In a time At the same time many more artists became
before intricate wild style and other forms disgusted with the idea of putting graffiti on a
of graffiti had emerged, the idea was just to white canvas.
make a presence in the city. The first docu Graffiti culture is very fragmented on this
mented evidence of New York City graffiti topic. Artists are pulling at opposite ends,
was in the mid 1960s, when a youth who and as a result this creates two very different
called himself “Julio 204” began to write graffiti subcultures. On one end are
his tag in the subway system. “hardcore” graffiti artists, who
The idea behind putting their names up in refuse to ever be paid for their
public and familiar places was to show a rejec work and strictly do throw ups
tion of their working class environment. Most on public
who worked in menial, low class jobs felt that walls. On
they had no individuality in the workplace; the other
that they were just part of the city’s life blood end are artists
and could not be distinguished from the next who tend to be
worker. Turning to art, graffiti writers posted more respectful
their names in as many places as possible, in of private prop
essence to let the world know that they were erty and look to
still conscious and were still human beings. As the art for
Omar, a New York City graffiti writer puts it
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